This article is brought to you by the Committee to Elect Mike Katcher. Mike is running for Kokomo Common Council 3rd District to fight for issues that matter to our neighborhoods: sidewalks, street repair, new curbs, improved sewers, expanded trolley service, and investing in Indian Heights. That’s why former Kokomo mayor Steve Daily supports Mike.
“I want to assure the voters of the 3rd Kokomo City Council District, Mike Katcher will not only listen to you, but hear you. He will not only represent you, but fight for you. I am proud to endorse Mike Katcher for City Council.”
The United Auto Workers (UAW) rode into battle with their banner flying high, and in just six weeks, they felled three corporate dragons. The union announced on Oct. 30 that it had reached a tentative agreement with General Motors (GM), marking the third and final accord reached with the Big 3 automakers.
“Once again, we have won several astonishing victories,” said UAW International President Shawn Fain. “For the past several weeks, analysts and pundits were crying that our union was going too far, that we were demanding too much. We didn't listen to them, and we never let up.
“The result is one of the most stunning contract victories since the sit-down strikes in the 1930s. We were relentless in our fight to win a record contract. And that is exactly what we accomplished.”
In the tentative agreement, the union won significant gains for the salaried workers at GM it represents. Like the hourly workers, they will receive a wage increase of 25 percent and a Cost Of Living Allowance (COLA). Assembly workers will see 70-percent increases in wages. Top wages will increase to $42.95 per hour.
With the agreement, the UAW called an end to all strikes against the Big 3 automakers. Like the cases with Ford Motor Co. and Stellantis, the leadership of the UAW’s national GM council will meet on Fri., Nov. 3, to review the details of the agreement and vote whether to forward it to the membership.
If the council approves the agreement, a Facebook Live session will be held that evening to explain the details to the membership. Regional informational meetings will follow, and then the membership will vote.
“As I've said repeatedly, the membership is the highest authority in this union,” said Fain. “We are bringing this tentative agreement to you because we wholeheartedly believe that our strike squeezed every last dime out of General Motors. But what happens next, it's up to all of you.
“This was your strike. This is your union, and this is your contract. We actively encourage debate and discussion. Democracy is the lifeblood of our union.”
UAW International Vice President Mike Booth detailed how GM had been the most aggressive abusers of wage tiers. Main production workers, workers at GMCH facilities like the one in Kokomo, and workers at GM’s subsystem facilities all earned differing wages under essentially a different contract. All of these workers now will be compensated by the main production wage scale.
“We believe in equal pay for equal work,” said Booth. “The company wants us divided, fighting over the different size crumbs each group gets while the company executives and the wealthy shareholders walk away with the whole pie.
“We put an end to that in this round of contract negotiations. We stood up in this agreement. All of those workers GMCH, CCA, Brownstown, and Solstice subsystems will be brought into the main production wage scale under our Master Agreement.”
Fain explained that lower-tiered workers at GMCH will see as much as an 89-percent increase in pay upon ratification of the contract. And all temporary workers will be converted to full-time status within nine months.
“These are huge steps forward in our goal of ending tiers, which have eroded our solidarity and our dignity while making these rich companies even richer,” said Fain. “Right now, the future of our industry is being defined. We stopped GM’s race to the bottom. I don't care if you build combustion engines or electric vehicle batteries, these workers make these vehicles and this company run, and they will be recognized and compensated justly for it.”
“With this tentative agreement, we've not only won at GM, but over the course of the last six days, working around the clock, we have reached tentative agreements across each of the Big 3. When I think about where this fight began, one thing is abundantly clear. They underestimated us. They underestimated you.
“These corporations had no idea what was coming for them, and they have no idea what's next. We have a very proud history. I carry with me my grandfather's check stub every day because I don't forget where I come from. We learn from history, but we also make history. The stand-up strike is the first page in a new chapter of our story. We have united our membership like never before. We have shown the companies, the American public, and the whole world that the working class is not done fighting. In fact, we're just getting started.”